Individual Assignment I: Case Analysis
Case: WALD PRESS
Executive Summary
Wald Press, a large New York based printing firm for many years had close association with Campbell brothers, a Manhattan based publishing house, which supplied it with the major portion of its work. Campbell Brothers couldn't supply Wald Press with enough work to keep it operating at reasonable output level during depression of thirties. Thus Wald Press obtained contracts from other publishing firms. When Campbell brothers' sales increased again, they wanted Wald Press to drop outside contracts as they would supply them with enough of work. Wald Press is in dilemma as to drop or not to drop outside contracts.
Word Count: 100
Situation Analysis
Wald Press, a large New York based printing firm for many years had close association with Campbell brothers, a Manhattan based publishing house, which supplied it with the major portion of its work. During the depression of the thirties, the publishing house had drop in its sales and could not supply Wald Press with enough work to keep it operating at a reasonable level of output. Wald Press obtained outside contracts to cure that. Wald Press told them that their work was being taken for an indefinite period of time and that they would not abandon it when business condition improved. In 1946 Campbell Brothers' sales increased and they wanted Wald Press to drop outside contracts and take all their remaining work. Outside contracts were not so profitable and would also have more finished goods inventory but were less exacting and an average outside book took 15% less time to produce than the average Campbell Brothers' book.
Billing on outside contracts amounted to $277,625.09 in 1944 and $242,348.55 in 1945. In the same years, production costs on these contracts were $324,625.55 and $232,698.49. In 1944, billings to Campbell Brothers totaled $1,172,862.06 and in 1945 they were $1,555,944.25. The Wald Press as a whole was making money, and therefore it seemed obvious that the profits came from work done for Campbell Brothers only.
But there was a risk of other bad time for Campbell Brothers and so diversification in form of outside contracts contributed to avoid the risk of operating Wald Press below the reasonable level of output. Also image of Wald Press was at stake if it drops outside contracts. Though Campbell Brothers reassured Wald Press that their sales were high and as seen from the data provide is that
Amity Shlaes tells the story of the Great Depression and the New Deal through the eyes of some of the more influential figures of the period—Roosevelt’s men like Rexford Tugwell, David Lilienthal, Felix Frankfurter, Harold Ickes, and Henry Morgenthau; businessmen and bankers like Wendell Willkie, Samuel Insull, Andrew Mellon, and the Schechter family. What arises from these stories is a New Deal that was hostile to business, very experimental in its policies, and failed in reviving the economy making the depression last longer than it should. The reason for some of the New Deal policies was due to the President’s need to punish businessmen for their alleged role in bringing the stock market crash of October 1929 and therefore, the Great Depression.
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Yellin, Samuel. American Labor Struggles New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co. 1936; Reprinted New York: Arno Press, 1970.
MacLaury, J. 1998. “A Brief History: The Department of Labor.” The United States Department of Labor.
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Hutchins, B.I. and A. Harrison. 1903. A History of Factory Legislation. London: P.S. King and Son. [References to 1966 ed. By London: Cass.]
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